8 Tech Execs Who Should NOT Run for Office

It's probably best these execs stay in Silicon Valley.

Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey, the 24-year-old founder of Oculus VR, is something of a celebrity among virtual reality enthusiasts – not to mention a meme. And while VR might be the future, Luckey's online antics might have torpedoed any hopes of a political career.

Last fall, reports emerged that Luckey secretly bankrolled an Internet meme group circulating anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda. Nimble America describes itself as a crowdfunded nonprofit focused on "promoting the ideals of America First" and dedicated to proving that "s**tposting is powerful and meme magic is real." It also paid for billboards, including one that featured a cartoonish image of Clinton's face next to the phrase "Too Big to Jail."

After the controversy blew up, Luckey said in a Facebook post that he thought Nimble America "had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters through the use of several billboards." He apologized for "negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners" and has largely remained out of the spotlight since then (no appearance at the Oculus Connect conference) except to testify at trial for a case that accuses Oculus of stealing trade secrets, which didn't turn out so well.

The US Constitution outlines three minimum requirements to become president: one must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and have lived in the US for 14 years or more.

But public service takes many forms, including Congress and local politics. Ideally, politicians serve as a voice of the people, bring integrity and experience to the position, and steer the nation toward a positive future.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed plans to visit and meet people in 30 states—a move many believe is the start of the entrepreneur's political career. Zuck denied it, and said his focus is on Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. But he did convince Facebook's board to let him retain control of his company, even if he takes a leave of absence to serve "in a government position or office."

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, meanwhile, just bought the biggest house in Washington, D.C., though he may just want comfy place to rest his head when he visits The Washington Post, which he owns.

The election of real estate exec and TV personality Donald Trump has prompted a closer look at other business types who might pursue the highest office in the land. And while names like Zuckerberg, Cook, Sandberg, and Whitman have been thrown around as possible contenders for the White House, there are a few names in tech that might not be the best choice for Commander in Chief, Senator, or – in some cases – city council, if we're being honest. Of course, Trump's campaign strategy proves anything is possible, so perhaps those featured in the gallery will be making the rounds in D.C. regardless.

Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey

Palmer Luckey, the 24-year-old founder of Oculus VR, is something of a celebrity among virtual reality enthusiasts – not to mention a meme. And while VR might be the future, Luckey's online antics might have torpedoed any hopes of a political career.

Last fall, reports emerged that Luckey secretly bankrolled an Internet meme group circulating anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda. Nimble America describes itself as a crowdfunded nonprofit focused on "promoting the ideals of America First" and dedicated to proving that "s**tposting is powerful and meme magic is real." It also paid for billboards, including one that featured a cartoonish image of Clinton's face next to the phrase "Too Big to Jail."

After the controversy blew up, Luckey said in a Facebook post that he thought Nimble America "had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters through the use of several billboards." He apologized for "negatively impacting the perception of Oculus and its partners" and has largely remained out of the spotlight since then (no appearance at the Oculus Connect conference) except to testify at trial for a case that accuses Oculus of stealing trade secrets, which didn't turn out so well.

2

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick

The Uberification of America (not to mention the rest of the globe) is thanks in part to co-founder Travis Kalanick. But the popular taxi-hailing app has had its share of controversy.

The firm has battled with drivers over whether or not they classify as full-time employees deserving of benefits, something that will likely not sit well with certain people on a campaign trail. It, along with other ride-sharing apps, has also been criticized for "a pattern of racial discrimination" by employees and allegedly sabotaging the efforts of rivals like Lyft. There's also the fact that it ignored California law in rolling out a test of its self-driving cars in San Francisco and ignored a strike in New York.

Those of a certain political persuasion, meanwhile, were irked that Kalanick decided to serve on a Trump innovation forum; the backlash prompted him to quit this week.

3

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman

Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman returned to the social networking site as CEO in 2015 after Ellen Pao was let go. The 33-year-old, however, upset many Reddit users in November, when he secretly edited posts criticizing him for banning a subreddit discussion of a Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory. He later apologized, writing in a post that "I understand what I did has greater implications than my relationship with one community, and it is fair to raise the question of whether this erodes trust in Reddit."

4

T-Mobile CEO John Legere

As eccentric tech moguls go, T-Mobile's vocal, animated, and sometimes foul-mouthed CEO John Legere is probably better suited for the board room than the Roosevelt Room.

Since taking over the mobile carrier in 2012, Legere has made waves by ditching traditional wireless contracts and riling up net neutrality advocates with the 2015 introduction of Binge On, which lets users stream mobile video without eating into their allotted data. On the latter, Legere and the Electronic Frontier Foundation came to digital fisticuffs when the CEO tweeted a video in which he asked with a smirk, "Who the f**k are you, anyway, EFF?" Legere later backtracked on his comments, apologizing for his unfiltered remarks.

One PCMag staffer, however, thinks Legere's out-sized personality might help him win against Trump in 2020.

5

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer

Mayer joined Yahoo as CEO in 2012 from Google to much fanfare. She quickly made a number of high-profile acquisitions—including the $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr—and later celebrated the creation of what she called a "new, supercharged" company.

Her efforts couldn't quite lift Yahoo high enough, however. Verizon last year announced plans to acquire Yahoo for approximately $4.83 billion—a deal that might be in jeopardy thanks to a massive data breach at Yahoo.
If the deal goes through, Mayer will step down from the board of directors and the Internet giant will change its name to Altaba, Inc.

Business failures are certainly no deterrent from securing public office. But Mayer's tenure as Yahoo CEO would likely be front and center for oppo researchers, as Carly Fiorina found out during the 2016 GOP primary.

6

PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel

German-born Peter Thiel—an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, political activist, and PayPal co-founder—was one of the only Silicon Valley execs to publicly back Donald Trump.

But Thiel is perhaps best known among tech types and journalists for his controversial role in the 2012 Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit, in which pro wrestler Hulk Hogan sued Gawker Media for publishing a sex tape. The billionaire paid $10 million to help finance the suit against the gossip site, which outed Thiel in a 2007 article. Gawker lost and had to close up shop last year.

Despite criticism over his role in the case, Thiel in June was voted in for a second term on Facebook's board. "Peter did what he did on his own. Not as a board member," COO Sheryl Sandberg said last summer.

John McAfee

John McAfee was named a suspect in the shooting of his 52-year-old American expatriate neighbor, Gregory Faull, in Belize.

John McAfee, while evading arrest, blogged about adventures like posing as a drunk German tourist shouting about Auschwitz or a dolphin-carving peddler disguised by shoe-polish-darkened skin and a tampon shoved up his nose.

John McAfee was detained for illegally entering Guatemala, where he suffered two "minor heart attacks" and was sent back to the US.

John McAfee sold to Impact Future Media the exclusive intellectual property rights to his life story, tentatively titled Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee.

John McAfee released a very NSFW video explaining "How to Uninstall McAfee Antivirus" using bath salts and bullets.

John McAfee—self-described "eccentric millionaire" and one-time Internet security mogul—was born in the UK and therefore cannot be president, but he might fit right in in the House or state-level politics!

8

Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Business magnate and inventor Elon Musk was born in South Africa, so he can't technically run for president. But he has dipped a toe into the US policy world by joining President Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, and he could run for office in other capacities. But Musk is focused on moonshots that are likely better solved in Silicon Valley than a D.C. back room. He no doubts has the smarts to survive in Washignton, but we would encourage Musk not to get caught up in policy making and focus on his grand plans, like traveling to Mars.

About the Author

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) with a degree in journalism and mass communications. See Full Bio